Google Buys Social Gaming Company Slide

Google is getting very serious about gaming. The company is now said to have acquired Slide, a social gaming company, for $182 million or $228 million, depending on the source. Slide was founded by Max Levchin, a PayPal cofounder. If any of the prices are accurate, it would be a significant decline from what the company was valued at two years ago. Google has been targeting social gaming companies lately as it is said to be working on creating a full-blown Facebook competitor.

None of the companies confirmed the deal and would not comment. The official announcement is expected to come on Friday, according to TechCrunch which broke the news. The tech blog also pegs the transaction at $182 million. The New York Times later independently confirmed the acquisition and put forward a new price saying that the company was sold for $228 million, according to its sources. It is unknown what Levchin’s future role will be at Google if any. More details should come on Friday.

Slide was founded four years ago and currently focuses on social games and other applications for social networks. At its latest funding round in 2008, when it raised $50 million, the company was evaluated at $500 million, much higher than the current selling price. The company raised $78 million in funding to date.

Google is rumored to be working on a social network of its own to compete with Facebook. While it hasn’t officially announced its plans, Google has confirmed that it is working on something in the field. However, the company says it is not a direct competitor to Facebook and that it will be something completely new.

That’s not what people familiar with the matter say, though. Google is focusing on games for its new social venture. It is rumored that it invested $100 million to $200 million in social gaming powerhouse Zynga, though no official announcement has been made. The two companies have confirmed that they are working together and that a partnership of some sort is in the works. What’s more, Google is said to be looking at buying or investing in more companies in the space.